The Nation Newspaper

Tag: South Africa

  • Xenophobic Attacks: Bafana Bafana vs Chipolopolo friendly in limbo

    The lyrics by late reggae legend Bob Marley that “when the rain falls, it doesn’t fall on one man’s house top” best described current development as the xenophobic attack in South Africa is on verge of truncating a friendly match between South Africa and Zambia.

    The match fixed for Saturday which should have served as the first in charge for new Bafana Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki is on the verge of being cancelled as there are pressures on Zambia to jettison the arrangement since the attacks also extended to Gauteng which has high concentration of other Africans including Zambians.

    Although many reports indicate that Nigerians are mostly targeted but some other reports insist that it is not just Nigerians but also other African countries.

    South Africa based News24 reported that protesters and looters have targeted foreigners in different parts of Gauteng over the past few days.

    Zambia football Association is reportedly under intense pressure to call off the match billed for Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka

    Bafana Bafana Coach Molefi Ntseki and his squad are currently camping in Johannesburg and were scheduled to depart for Zambia on Thursday even as local media are said to be monitoring reaction from both SAFA and ZAFA ahead of scheduled Thursday’s departure of Bafana Bafana for Lusaka.

    Chipolopolo  : Will their friendly against Bafana Bafana hold on Saturday?

    Some other reports indicate that a number of African countries are not happy with the reported attacks in the Rainbow Nation and may not be eager to play should the match against Zambia fail prompting the need for a replacement team to face Bafana Bafana who made it to the quarterfinals of the last Nations cup before bowing out after losing 2-1 to Super Eagles of Nigeria at the Cairo Stadium.

    Samuel Chukwueze had shot Eagles into the lead in the 27th minute of the encounter but Zungu equalised for Bafana Bafana in the 71st minute but it was Troost Ekong’s 89th minute goal that finally put the match out of the reach of the South Africans who interestingly sent hosts packing in the round of 16 thanks to a lone goal by Thembinkosi Lorch in the 86th minute.

  • South Africa …Nigerians as endangered species

    Will there ever be an end to the attacks on Nigerians in South African cities? Minister of Foreign Affairs Geofrey Onyeama says enough is enough. But, it seems there is no end in sight, writes OLATUNDE ODEBIYI

     

    • The crisis erupted Tuesday last week in Pretoria Business District as indigenes angered by the death of a taxi operator apparently thought to be killed by a Nigerian went on rampage.
    • There was massive protest march in different parts of Johannesburg which were targeted against foreign nationals
    • The said driver was, however, allegedly killed by a Tanzanian which sparked the violence that resorted to looting of shops owned by Nigerians and some other foreigners in that country
    • Erroneous information was sent to the public that sparked the protest which went out of hand, and before the police could curb it, serious damage had been done on Nigerian investments
    • Properties and businesses belonging to foreign nationals worth millions of Rands had been lost to looting and burning in the past week
    • 13 of the 118 deaths were by the South African Police
    • A Nigerian had eight vehicles in his car lot burnt by the arsonists, while another had his warehouse containing his 16 years investment destroyed.
    • The South African government must, as a matter of urgency, do whatever it takes to protect the lives and property of Nigerians living there, just as Nigerian government remain committed to the safety of South Africans residing here and their investments

     

    SENATE President Ahmed Lawan hosted South African High Commissioner to Nigeria Bobby Moroe in July. Lawan lamented all through the meeting in Abuja, the nation’s capital. As at that time, 118 Nigerians had been killed in attacks overs the years.

    Lawan condemned the continuous killings of Nigerians in South Africa, warning that further attacks on Nigerians would no longer be condoned. He said 13 of the 118 deaths were by the South African Police.

    A statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mohammed Isa, said Moroe and his delegation paid the visit to brief the Senate leadership on his government’s investigations to unravel the causes of the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and steps being taken to stop such.

    According to Lawan, the meeting became pertinent considering the incessant attacks on Nigerians in cities in South Africa.

    “We in the parliament must speak and prevent any further killings. These killings must stop. This is the era of social media where corpse of a victim may spark violence that may go beyond the control of government.

    “The South African government must, as a matter of urgency, do whatever it takes to protect the lives and property of Nigerians living there, just as Nigerian government remain committed to the safety of South Africans residing here and their investments.

    “I believe we have faced enough, we will no longer take it anymore. We want to write the names of Nigerians killed, and the South African parliament must act fast to put a stop to this menace.

    “Over the years, 118 Nigerians have been killed, while 13 out of these were killed by South African Police,” he said.

    The meeting did not end without Lawan reminding the envoy of Nigeria’s role in ending the apartheid rule.

    Monroe spoke of the commitment of South African government and its law enforcement agencies to bring to book perpetrators of the attacks.

    “Our government will continue to be committed to the good relationship with Nigeria. Your sentiment has gone deep into our heart, and you will be happy that the same sentiment has been our concern in South Africa.

    “On behalf of the government of South Africa, we express our sincere condolences to Nigerian government for this unfortunate incident,” he said.

    Moroe extended the country’s condolences to the families of the victims, promising that things would change. Instead, the attacks intensified in the last few days forcing Minister of Foreign Affairs Geofrey Onyeama to say enough was enough. Nigerian businesses were targeted and set on fire. The fresh attacks have led to three deaths of foreigners while another is still receiving treatment for smoke inhalation.

    The President of the Nigeria Union South Africa (NUSA), Adetola Olubajo, yesterday said the attacks began on Sunday morning in Jeppestown area of Johannesburg when a building was set ablaze by an angry mob.

    “The mob also looted several shops that were around the vicinity suspected to be owned by foreign nationals.

    “But the Police later dispersed the mob and made some arrest,’’ he said in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    “Late in the evening of Sunday, Sept. 1, a group of violent locals suspected to be Zulu hostel dwellers besieged Jules Street in Malvern, Johannesburg looted and burned shops/businesses.’’

    According to a witnesses living on Jules street, the Zulu hostel dwellers were very organised and well-coordinated in looting and burning of any shops/businesses suspected to be owned by foreign nationals.

    Olubajo said that information gathered by members of NUSA in Malvern area, indicated that over 50 shops/businesses were destroyed, looted and burnt over the night.

    “Also, some businesses owned by foreign nationals were looted in Germiston on Sunday evening. A Nigerian-owned Internet Café and computer accessories business was among the looted shops in Germiston.

    “When I got the sad news late yesterday (Sunday) evening, I immediately informed the Police in Jeppestown but lots of damage had been done already.

    “The means of livelihood of people were looted and destroyed by fire overnight which have left many Nigerians traumatised.

    “Nigerian-owned businesses were seriously affected. A car sales business owned by a Nigerian were among the several businesses set ablaze over the night.

    “Although the Police said that many people had been arrested in connection with the unnecessary attacks, the looting and burning of foreign-owned businesses continued till Monday morning,’’ he said.

    He added that properties and businesses belonging to foreign nationals worth millions of Rands had been lost to looting and burning in the past week at different locations in Pretoria and Johannesburg.

    Olubajo said that there was massive protest march in different parts of Johannesburg which were targeted against foreign nationals, noting that some of the areas affected by the violent protest march were Rosettenville, Turfontein, Germison, Primrose and Silverton in Pretoria.

    “We implore the security operatives to be proactive and not reactive as many long years hard earned investments have been lost through looting, destruction and burning.

    “Our government officials in South Africa should also seriously engage their counterparts in South Africa.

    “This proactive move will go a long way to prevent further loss of properties and even lives. The situation is tensed and very dangerous for foreign nationals, hence, we implore Nigerians in South Africa, most especially in Gauteng Province to be vigilant and stay safe,’’ he said.

    The Nigerian Citizens Association in South Africa (NICASA) also called on the South African authorities to arrest and prosecute those involved in the burning and looting of Nigerian businesses in that country.

    The President of NICASA, Ben Okoli, made this call in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja from Pretoria, South Africa on Friday.

    Okoli said prosecution of the culprits would serve as deterrent to others and forestall such unwarranted occurrence in the future.

    He said that crisis erupted on Tuesday in Pretoria Business District as indigenes angered by the death of a taxi operator apparently thought to be killed by a Nigerian went on rampage.

    Okoli said that the said driver was, however, allegedly killed by a Tanzanian which sparked the violence that resorted to looting of shops owned by Nigerians and some other foreigners in that country.

    He said that it was painful that erroneous information was sent to the public that sparked the protest which went out of hand, and before the police could curb it, serious damage had been done on Nigerian investments.

    According to him, Nigerian-owned businesses looted and burnt include furniture, electronics shops, warehouses, mechanic and motor spare parts among others.

    Okoli said the impact of the attack was much as millions of Naira was lost by Nigerian businessmen.

    He said that though the crisis affected other foreigners, what made the matter worse was that the crisis happened where there were a lot of Nigerian businesses.

    He added that a Nigerian had eight vehicles in his car lot burnt by the arsonists, while another had his warehouse containing his 16 years investment destroyed.

    The NICASA president said that another had the customer’s car in his mechanic workshop destroyed, causing colossal damage to his investment in the country.

    Okoli appealed to Nigerians in that country to remain calm, stressing that the issue had been reported to the Nigerian mission which had pledged holistic action on it.

    He urged the Nigerian mission in South Africa to intervene by ensuring the safety of Nigerians in the country.

    The NICASA president said that it was time the South African authorities ended xenophobic attacks on foreigners and mainly on Nigerians at any slightest provocation.

    “At this juncture, we are appealing to the South African authority to be in control of security of their country, they must not allow these arsonists to take the laws into their hands always.

    “What happened should not have degenerated into chaos if proactive measures were taken by the authority.

    “The culprits should be prosecuted, we are no longer accepting the injustice, the damage is colossal and should not repeat itself,” Okoli said.

  • South African rand flat as investors await GDP data

    SOUTH Africa’s rand traded sideways on Monday, with investors holding fire ahead of second quarter economic growth figures that could help gauge the future direction for the currency.

    The rand was 0.1per cent weaker at 15.2050 per dollar compared with Friday’s close of 15.1850, extending the currency’s subdued run in the past few sessions, with a break of 15.50 eyed by bears failing to materialise.

    Statistics South Africa publishes second quarter gross domestic product figures on Tuesday at 0930 GMT.

    Africa’s most developed economy contracted 3.2per cent in quarter, hit by nationwide power outages by cash-strapped state power firm Eskom. A Reuters poll of economists forecasts Q2 GDP expanding 2.4per cent.

    “Much of this expected lift would be attributable to statistical base effects and the stabilisation of electricity supply rather than to a sustainable turnaround in economic activity,” said Lara Hodes of Investec.

    The ongoing trade spat between China and the United States has also dampened demand for emerging currencies.

     

  • Another Nigerian killed in South Africa

    Another Nigerian has been killed in South Africa, according to information from Johannesburg on Saturday.

    The Nigerian Citizens Association South Africa identified the victim as 43-year-old Benjamin Simeon from Okposi, Ebonyi State.

    Simeon, a Taxify driver, was allegedly shot by yet to be identified gunmen in the early hours of yesterday in Johannesburg.

    The spokesperson for the association,  Mr.  Sunny-Wenike Douglas, said the victim was killed moment after dropping off his clients in a part of the city.

    Douglas added that an investigating officer with the South Africa Police Service confirmed that a case of murder had been opened on the matter.

    Read Also: Union confirms killing of Nigerian teenager in South Africa

    He vowed that his association would follow up with the case to ensure that the killers were arrested and brought to justice.

    On June 12, a Nigerian insurance officer, Mrs Obianuju Ndubuisi-Chukwu, was murdered in South Africa while attending a conference there.

    Her killing was followed shortly by the murder of a Nigerian teenager who was also shot dead in Johannesburg.

  • BREAKING: Real Reason why Stuart Baxter quit Bafana Bafana job

    Less than 48 hours after England-born Stuart Baxter walked out of Bafana Bafana job real facts have emerged as to why the former Finland handler dumped the $33,500 (about N12.1million or 490,000 rands job.

    Baxter who was having a second romance with the national team after the first stanza from 2004 to 2006 frowned at overwhelming criticism coming from both the informed and uninformed alike.

    The Rainbow Nation is estimated to have a population of about 58.7 million with the former Kaizer Chief and Super Sports United coach saying there were “54 million national coaches in South Africa” adding that the situation does not give room for him to perform

    “I feel that I cannot continue to work with the required professionalism and passion as I have done,” he said

    As if that was not enough headache, a good percentage of the South African media were not satisfied with his performance which explains they welcomed his decision in a jiffy.

    Baxter first stint was considered a major flop losing four out of five matches leading to the 2018 World cup.

    Though Bafana Bafana got a standing ovation at the Nations cup when the edged out hosts Egypt in the round of 16, the party was however short lived after they were shown the door by eventual third place winners Nigeria in the quarterfinals

    Baxter joins the list of coaches that have been sent packing since the curtain fell on the continental fiesta close to two weeks ago. Clarence Seedorf was the first casualty after he failed to help Indomitable Lions of Cameroon defend their title following a round of 16, defeat by Nigeria.

    Others are Javier Aguirre who handled Egypt, Ricardo Mannetti, Paul Put and Emmanuel Amunike who though qualified Taifa Stars to the Nations cup for the first time in 39 years failed to win a match, Losing to Senegal, Kenya and eventual tournament champions Algeria and conceding 8 goals and scoring two.

     

    Read Also: Baxter resigns as coach of South Africa

  • 73 year-old creative genius

    73 year-old creative genius

    Vicky Somniso writes on the amazing story of Freda Phenethi, a 73 year-old art student in South Africa

    A very wise author once said the cemetery is the wealthiest places on earth. Her  reason  is that dead people who had great dreams and visions that were never fulfilled are  buried there. According to her “They died with their potentials”.

    Surely, someday the same will not be whispered about the 73-year-old granny who has utilized almost all of her skills. Granny, Freda Phenethi from Dobsonville in Soweto,South Africa is not just an ordinary woman, she is a polymath. She is the Meadowlands Methodist Church Choir chorister, fashion, graphic and garden designer. At 56, she studied fashion designing with the Kirsten Academy in Booysens and Theology with Methodist Church College in Jabavu, Soweto. She is currently an art student at The Design Studio in Roodepoort. She specializes in craft, oil, acrylic pencil and art painting.

    As a little girl, she was totally different from her peers who played with dolls and other games. Instead, at a tender age of nine, Phenethi was serving as an assistant nurse at Peelton Clinic in Eastern Cape. Born in 1939 in East London, she professionally practiced as a nurse in 1960 and retired in 2010.

    “I started at the age of nine in the sense of my godmother being a nurse. She taught me basic health care skills and I had to help her with patients when she responded to calls for delivery as she was also working as a mid-wife” she recalled. “I had to assist patients who had minor ailment, sustained injuries and general illnesses such as flue. Dressing them and cleaning their wounds was the main thing. But I was not supposed to give medication though. However, I was allowed to give health education and teach them to take care of themselves. I would also ask them to wait for my godmother to come or refer them to doctors or clinics.”

    She studied Nursing at Frere Hospital in East London and later worked at Frere Hospital, Kesington, Sandton, Garden City, Milpark and Flora Clinic in Gauteng. Her ex-husband Rev McFarlan Phenethi was a member of the National Assembly during Former President Nelson Mandela’s ruling.

    “I think I may have had enough time in nursing and being a strenuous career or profession I was feeling it in my body. It was strenuous because of the attention that one needed to give to patients, lifting them up especially after following cardiac operations and during emergencies,” she said.

    Phenethi is an award-winning ballroom-dancer and the former second princes for the Frere Hospital Miss Golden Jubililee beauty pageant. As an actress, she featured in a play called Xhapa Goes to Town and performed under the guidance of the late Gibson Kente.

    Speaking about her career as an artist she said, “I became fond of drawing when I was working as a nurse. I then decided to learn more skills in this area. At the age of 68, I began to study professionally as an artist at Roodepoort College. I did a two year course in graphic designing and at some stage I did freestyle embroidery as well as arts and craft.

    “ I’m still continuing with my studies in arts and this is my second year but now at The Design Studio. It is my creative nature. I can’t allow myself to be bogged down with boredom because the devil always looks around for idly hands. But my idea of doing this is to find a way of ploughing back to the community, restore the society that is breaking down, to build and develop the youth of this generation. What drives me is the energy I have and I get it from God. God has given me a wonderful energy,” she emphasized.

    To shame a majority of people who are younger than her, she is a member of Virgin Active in Roodepoort and attends yoga classes. She goes to the gym at least twice in a week and watches her diet.

    “But we do the slow muscle stretches that will strengthen your muscles.”

    She has designed her garden beautifully and opposite her arts studio is a Koi Pond.

    “I designed the Koi Pond or Fish Pond to distress. When I break off from designing then I just sit around the pond, open some water and enjoy watching the fish playing around,” she said.

    Her words of wisdom to the youth and her peers are, “They must try finding ways of sustaining their lives in a more creative way to breakdown from the demands that are misleading them such as being attracted to drugs and living deviant ways that their families or parents wouldn’t expect of them. The elderly people should try to keep themselves busy at home and distress to alleviate problems they encounter at their age.”

    As part of serving in the church, she and her team encourage people who are involved in substance abuse, drugs, gambling and women and child abuse to stop. They also pray for the nation concerning problems that are affecting the society.

    Freda’s faith is obviously her major driving force. “As God created us in his own image, we find ourselves as artist to be God co-creators, as we are creative beings, our lives become our work of art,” she said.

     

  • Ndubuisi-Chukwu: Youth council wants S’African govt to find killers

    The leadership of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has given the South African government a seven day ultimatum to find the killers of the Deputy Director-General, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Dr. Elizabeth Ndubuisi, and other Nigerians killed these years or risk the destruction of its businesses in Nigeria.

    The council’s threat is coming barely twenty four hours of similar threat issued by the National Association of Nigerian students on Thursday.

    The Council in a statement signed by its President, Almustapha Abdullahi, called on the South African government to investigate and bring those involved in her death to justice within the given time.

    He said failure to do so would lead to the complete ejection of South Africans and its related investment such as Dstv, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Gotv, MTN, Shopprite and others in Nigeria.

    Abdullahi said: “Having received the report on 127 Nigerian souls lost to the wicked madness of South Africans irresponsible tendency of their government in the recent xenophobia attacks on black citizens in their country, the latest killing at Emperor’s Palace Hotel & Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa of Mrs. Elizabeth Ndubuisi, the Deputy-Director General, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria is unprecedented.

    “The leadership of NYCN thereby call on the government of South Africa who have being doing less or nothing to stop this deadly attack on fellow Africans by Africans to either act now by fishing out the killer of Mrs. Ndubuisi and other Nigerians gruesomely murdered in South Africa or consider the complete ejection of South Africans and her related investment such as Dstv, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Gotv, MTN, Shopprite and others in Nigeria as we hit our departure point.”

  • Anger in Senate over murder of Nigerian in South Africa

    TEMPERS rose in the Senate on Wednesday as the murder of a Nigerian, Mrs. Elizabeth Ndubuisi-Chukwu, in South Africa, was debated.

    The upper chamber warned that Nigeria should not be taken for granted by South Africans.

    It asked the South African government to take steps to stop the killing of Nigerians resident in the country.

    The lawmakers noted that the rising wave of killing of Nigerians doing legitimate businesses in South Africa implied that the role Nigeria played in the liberation of the country during apartheid era is unappreciated by South Africans.

    On the death of Mrs. Ndubuisi-Chukwu, the Red Chamber resolved to issue a travel alert to Nigerians traveling to South Africa to be security conscious.

    Nigerians going to South Africa were also advised to ensure that their safety is not under threat.

    The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion on the “Death of Elizabeth Ndubuisi-Chukwu in South Africa,” sponsored by Minority Leader Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe.

    Abaribe noted that the late Mrs. Ndubuisi-Chukwu was in South Africa as a delegate of the Federal Government to attend a programme.

    He said the late Mrs Ndubuisi-Chukwu was allegedly killed by yet-to-be identified suspects in her hotel room.

    Abaribe said: “She went to South Africa to attend the conference of the African Insurance Organisation (AIO) and initially was suspected to have died of cardiac arrest.

    “The insinuation was proved wrong, following autopsy report released on June 20, 2019, by South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs, which indicated in a Death Certificate that the death was unnatural and suspected to be murder due to strangulation.

    “The suspicion that she could have been murdered was further confirmed in a separate document issued by South Africa’s Department of Health on June 27, 2019, where it corroborated the autopsy report and revealed that she was strangled.

    “This is not the First time Nigerians have died in suspicious and curious circumstances in South Africa.”

    The Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, gave further insights into how Nigerians are sometimes trailed to their hotels and either killed or robbed in South Africa.

    Read Also: Eight South African policemen to face murder charge today

    Kalu insisted that the Federal Government should take measures to stop what he described as the endless killing of Nigerians doing legitimate businesses in the former apartheid country.

    Kalu said: “I was in the country and I visited the embassy. I interacted with three former presidents. When they think you have some money, they track you from the airport to the hotel and sometimes kill you.

    “The Federal Government needs to do something. The person killed was a government delegate. The hotel in question must provide the footage for investigation. Everywhere in South Africa, they pursue Nigerians around like common criminals.

    “We have businesses there the same way they have businesses here. Three former presidents of South Africa have lived in Lagos. If they have, they should treat us as friends.

    “Let us invite their ambassador to Nigeria and our ambassador to South Africa. I don’t know when enough will be better. But enough is enough. This has to stop.”

    Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, also said that “enough is enough.”

    Lawan said the Eight Senate discussed the same issue extensively following the killing of a Nigerian in the country.

    The Senate President noted that as a responsible country, Nigeria cannot fold its hands and watch its citizens killed in other nations of the world.

    For Lawan, the trend must stop.

    He said: “This issue was discussed in the Eight Senate. We sent a delegation to the South African Parliament then. South African businesses flourish more here.

    “South African people are safe here. There is no need to take the lives of Nigerians. We deserve some respect. Our relationship must be respected. We are a responsible country.

    “We should not be taken for granted. We have provided leadership in Africa. We can’t take these killings anymore. We need to support the Executive to stop these killings.”

    The Senate resolved to urge the Federal Government not to relent in its efforts to unravel the circumstances surrounding Mrs. Ndubuisi-Chukwu death.

    It urged the South African government to carry out investigation into the death of Ndubuisi-Chukwu and other Nigerian citizens in such suspicious circumstances in South Africa.

    It commended the Federal Government of Nigeria for its prompt action in seeking the South African authority’s explanation of the death of Mrs. Ndubuisi-Chukwu.

  • AFCON 2019: Buhari hails victorious Super Eagles

    President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the Super Eagles for another spectacular outing that has confirmed Nigeria’s progress to the next level in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Egypt 2019.

    Nigeria beat South Africa 2-1 on Wednesday night.

    With a well-deserved victory over the Bafana Bafana of South Africa, President Buhari believed, like millions of other sports-loving Nigerians, that the mission of having the trophy in our hands for the fourth time is almost accomplished for the high flying Eagles.

    The President, in a statement by the Special Adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, urged the team and their handlers to remain focused, disciplined and scale the remaining two hurdles to glory.

    Read Also: Just In: Buhari approves N5b for research in tertiary institutions

    He affirmed that the crop of players in the national football team represent the resilient and indomitable Nigerian spirit, which must be reflected in all other areas of national life.

    President Buhari assured the players that Nigerians are praying for them to fly higher and get to the peak of the tournament, knowing that the taste of victory is sweet and what they have achieved so far is pleasing to Nigerians irrespective of ethnic, religious or political inclination.

  • SA Fans want close marking for Iwobi, Musa and Ighalo

    South African fans and analysts alike have dubbed Eagles trio of Ahmed Musa, Odion Ighalo and Alex Iwobi as danger men, urging coach South Africa coach Stuart Baxter to ensure they are given close marking.

    The three players according to South Africans have shown in the course of the ongoing tournament in Egypt that they can do damage given the slightest opportunity.

    Musa is considered a threat because of his ability to create space on one hand and also drop deep to collect ball to flag off attack on the other.

    Odion Ighalo who has already scored three goals is tipped to aim for more goals and could be a handful for Bafana Bafana defensive duo of Thulani Hlatshwayo and Buhle Mkhwanazi whose job it will be to prevent him from wreaking havoc. Alex Iwobi they further noted has a blistering pace on a good day and that could be problematic for Bafana Bafana.

    Meanwhile former Bafana Bafana winger Daine Klate has believes the boys from the Rainbow City have all it takes to sing victory song but admitted that it will not come easy against Nigerian side that became more determined after that shocking defeat by debutants Madagascar in the group stage.

    “It’s been good to see the positive response around the Egypt win and I hope the guys can go on and do something special against Nigeria,” Klate enthused.